Abstract

The immune system is the defense mechanism of the body and currently a number of disease conditions are on increase worldwide that either exaggerate or suppress it. The study investigated the immunomodulatory activity of the total crude extracts of S. anguivi (indicum) inWister albino rats. Four groups each with 6 healthy adult animals of either sex weighting between 80 to 150g were used. Group I was dosed each with 1mL intragastrically of normal saline. Groups II, III and IV were each given 1mL of total crude extract of 125mg/Kg bwt, 250mg/Kg bwt and 500mg/Kg bwt respectively daily for 14 days. On the 15th day, whole blood was collected by puncturing the retro orbital vein of the rats. The RBC, immune blood cell count, HA titer and DTH were determined. Increasing the dose of the extract from 125 to 500mg/Kg bwt caused a reduction in the mean WBC count. The reduction at a dose of 500mg/Kg bwtwas statistically significant (pï£0.05) as compared to the control group. The mean RBC count was higher than for the control group for all the doses but was not statistically significant (pï³0.05). Themean%lymphocyteswere higher for all the doses than the control group but with no statistical difference between the 2 groups (pï³0.05) though however, there was a dose-dependent reduction in the mean%lymphocytes. The mean%lymphocytes were higher for all the doses than the control group but with no statistical difference between the 2 groups (pï³0.05) though however, there was a dose-dependent reduction in the mean % lymphocytes. The HA titer was higher than the control group and was statistically significant (pï£0.05) at 125 and 250mg/ Kg bwt as compared to the control group. The neutrophil adhesion were higher than the control group but were not statistically significant. The DHT were higher than for the control group and was statistically significant (pï³0.05) at a dose of 500mg/Kg bwt after 12 hours and 125mg/Kg bwt after 24 hours. The results show that the total crude leaf extracts of S. anguivi contained compounds with immunomodulatory activity.